BEIRUT — The family of a freelance journalist with Rochester and Lakes Region ties says he went missing in Syria more than one month ago while covering the civil war there.

A statement released online Wednesday by the family of James Foley, of Rochester, said he was kidnapped in northwest Syria by unknown gunmen on Thanksgiving day.

The statement appealed to those holding Foley to contact the family "so we can work together toward his release."

Foley, 39, has worked in a number of conflict zones around the Middle East, including Syria, Libya and Iraq.

He was contributing videos to Agence France-Press while in Syria.

The news agency quoted its chairman, Emmanuel Hoog, as saying it was doing all it could to secure Foley's release.

"He is a professional journalist who is absolutely neutral in this conflict," Hoog said.

Foley grew up in Wolfeboro and graduated from Kingswood Regional High School in 1990. He later earned an undergraduate degree in history from Marquette University in Milwaukee, a masters of fine arts degree in writing from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a graduate degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Illinois.

Foley's parents moved to Rochester in 1993 when James was in college. Father John Foley, a doctor at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, previously described his son as an "adventurous" man with a passion for writing.

During his last semester at Northwestern, James Foley spent time embedded with the Indiana National Guard in Iraq, spurring his interest in war reporting, according to his parents.

John Foley said his son later went to Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division.

He documented his travels on a blog, "A World of Troubles," which chronicled his experience beginning in February 2008.

In 2011, Foley was taken prisoner in Libya along with three other journalists by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. He was working as a freelance contributor for the Boston-based news agency GlobalPost at the time.

According to his parents, James Foley has been a freelance journalist for about seven years. He also worked as a teacher with Teach for America in Phoenix, Ariz., and also dabbled in fiction writing.

Foster's reported in 2011, Foley went missing in Libya when he was detained by pro-Gaddafi forces on April 5. Foley said he was interested in getting into Libya following news of a rebel uprising and entered the country with relative ease via the Egyptian border. He quickly found himself in Benghazi.

Some days were spent in "Revolutionary Square," which Foley described as a "bombed out shell covered in anti-Gaddafi artwork." The square served as a media hub where journalists would gather to get information, share information and attend regular press conferences.

On other days he and fellow news gatherers would journey to the front line to view the action for themselves. Foley said it was typical to spend 5-6 hours talking to rebels, "trying to get a sense of what was going on," before heading back to Benghazi.

It was on one of these types of trips on April 5, that Foley was captured by Gaddafi-friendly forces and fellow journalist Anton Hammerl was shot and killed.

On May 18, 2011 the freelance journalists was released, making his way across the Tunisia border to safety with fellow journalist who was also captured, Clare Gillis.

"It's an amazing feeling of freedom to be in Tunisia. Just to be able to walk to a car and know that we're not going to another detention center or trial is a relief," James Foley told GlobalPost after he and Gillis were released.